Trusting In Others
by Waverin3
Summary: Seth gets really sick, and it could kill him. Please RR! Chapter 5 up! Summer forces Ryan to open up about his past when something happens with Seth.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything!**

Ryan woke up one morning to hear a screech and a glass dropping in the kitchen. He immediately ran into the kitchen to find a pale face Kirsten, a nervous Sandy and a crying Seth.

Everyone looked over at him. Seth looked up. His eyes were puffy from crying and Kirsten was still shaking.

"What happened?" Ryan asked.

Seth turned around and lifted his shirt up. He had small blisters on his left shoulder and on the right side of his body near his hip. Seth looked at Ryan and Ryan noticed some of the blisters on his face. Ryan went up to Seth's back and examined them a little more.

"You said you felt a little sore, and the places where the blisters are were red, right?" Ryan asked.

Seth nodded.

"Did it feel like a burning pain?"

Seth nodded.

Ryan looked over at Sandy and Kirsten.

"Seth's got Shingles. Do you know what that is?"

They shook their heads.

"Shingles is a disease, obviously. It causes a painful rash of small blisters that typically appear on the body, often in a band on the chest and back. The virus that causes Shingles also causes chicken pox."

Sandy and Kirsten stared at Ryan.

"I paid attention in Health, unlike some people," Ryan said looking at Seth. Seth looked at him and smiled. "Shingles can occur near the eye also. That's what's over here." Ryan went over and pointed to Seth's eye. "You should consult an ophthalmologist immediately. The surface of his eye could become scarred, leading to damaged vision in the left eye." Ryan looked over at Sandy and Kirsten who were on the verge of tears.

"I'll call Dr. Castiglia and see if he recommends anyone," Sandy said. Ryan stopped him.

"I'll call. Stay with Seth. I'll be back in a few minutes." Ryan grabbed the phone and walked into the living room.

Seth started to cry again. "It hurts mom," he said.

"I know it does. Ryan's calling the eye doctor to get an appointment," Kirsten said.

"Ryan? What? Why is he calling an eye doctor?"

Sandy was nervous.

Seth shook his head. "Oh yeah, my Shingles. That's a funny word. Weeeee."

Ryan was on the phone with James Castiglia.

"Hi Dr. Castiglia. It's Ryan Atwood, Sandy and Kirsten's son," Ryan said.

"Yes Ryan. What can I do for you?"

"Well, Seth's got a bad case of Shingles. It's on his back, his left hip and his eye. I need the number for an eye doctor."

"Yeah. I'll give you Dr. Johnson's number. He's my brother-in-law and he's one of the best damn eye doctors around. He's on 10 minutes away."

"Thanks Dr. Castiglia."

"You're welcome Ryan. I'll come and see him when I can."

Ryan hung up the phone and went inside. He saw Seth laying on his right side on the couch.

"Ryan, he has it on his left ear also," Sandy informed him.

"Crap. OK. I got the number for the ophthalmologist. I also got directions. We can go now and Dr. Castiglia called in advance. We can go in as soon as we get there," Ryan said.

"All right. Let's roll," Sandy said.

Sandy and Ryan hauled a very tired Seth into the Range Rover and they were soon away.

**A/N: I know it's short, but I'm just getting started. I got plenty of information about Shingles and I'm going all the way with this story. But trust me, IT WILL GET SAD. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything**

Ryan felt like crying. He was trying his best to hold back the tears that so badly wanted to flow freely. He was sitting in the back next to Seth. He was groaning and crying in pain and it killed Ryan. He looked at Seth and noticed his left eye was closed. He thought the Shingles might have something to do with that, which made him want to cry even more.

They got to Dr. Johnson's and they saw the ophthalmologist standing outside, waiting.

"Hello. You must be Ryan. It's nice to meet you," he said.

Ryan shook his hand. "It's nice to meet you too. But Seth is in need of medical attention. He has a very severe case of the Shingles and it's getting worse. The blisters on his eye are increasing and his left eye won't open."

"I see. Well, tell him to come in."

Ryan looked at him. "He's too tired to walk."

"My God. This is bad. Son, we have to get him to a hospital. Now. Tell the Cohens. I'm calling an ambulance to take him to Hoag Hospital."

Ryan went over to the Cohens and shocked Sandy and Kirsten. He started to cry. Kirsten went over and hugged him.

"What happened sweetie?" Kirsten asked.

"Seth h-h-has to g-go t-to the hospital. Now."

Kirsten eyes started turning red and tearing. Sandy came over and comforted her. Meanwhile, Ryan went over to the car. Seth was half awake.

"Hey man," Ryan said.

Seth smiled at him.

"We have to take you to Hoag. Now. OK?"

Seth nodded his head and fell asleep.

Ryan turned around and saw that the ambulance had pulled up.

"Ryan, can you go with Sandy and bring the Range Rover to the hospital? I'm going to go in the ambulance," Kirsten said.

Ryan nodded and hopped in the passenger seat. He watched as they put Seth into the ambulance and drove away. Ryan felt a hand on his shoulder and looked at Sandy. They followed the ambulance out as it led them to Hoag Hospital.

Ryan stepped out of the Range Rover and looked at the hospital. It was nothing like hospitals in Chino. It was nice and from what he could see, the rooms looked gorgeous. Ryan stepped into the hospital and saw Kirsten waiting there.

"He's in his room now. They put his IV in and they are going to run tests soon. They said they have never seen such a bad case of Shingles before. They told me not to worry and that we can go see him. The nurse just told me about a minute before you guys got here that we can see him."

Sandy, Ryan and Kirsten went up to the room. Seth was able to get a private room. He was half sleeping, half watching television. He was watching The Valley.

"Summer likes this show," Seth said. He didn't realize they were in there.

"The doctor said he was a little delusional. He might actually be funny," Kirsten joked.

Ryan let out a chuckle and remembered something. _Summer_. "I'll be right back," he said. He went downstairs and outside of the hospital. He took out his cell phone and called Summer.

"Hey Chino!"

"Hey Summer."

"Whoa! Who died?"

Ryan was silent.

"Ryan? Did someone die?"

Ryan started to cry again.

"Oh Chino! Don't cry! What happened?"

Ryan took a deep breath. "Seth has Shingles. It's bad though Summer. He's in the hospital. He has just been admitted to Hoag."

Ryan heard Summer crying. "I'm coming." She hung up the phone.

About 10 minutes later, Summer was there.

"How fast were you going?" Ryan asked.

"90. Leave me alone."

She went to go in, but Ryan stopped her.

"Summer, what you are going to see might scare you. Seth has blisters all over his eye and ear. He is delusional and he might be sleeping. If he's awake, he might not make sense. But he was asking for you Summer."

Summer nodded.

"He loves you. I wanted to tell you that. He told me so when he wasn't acting delusional."

Summer grabbed Ryan's hand and squeezed it. Ryan pulled her into a hug. "Let's go," he said.

Summer walked into the waiting room and saw Sandy and Kirsten sitting there. Summer went over and hugged them each.

"They are running some tests and will be done in about 10 minutes," Sandy said.

The doctor came out and called Kirsten in. "He wants you," the doctor said.

About 10 minutes later, Kirsten came out. She was crying. "It was the most horrible thing ever Sandy. They gave him a spinal tap. He started crying. We can go into his room. They moved him back." Kirsten looked at Summer. "He wants to see you."

Summer got up and down the hall to room 204. She opened the door and saw Seth sitting up watching TV. He looked over when he saw the door opened. His face lit up and he waved at her. She waved back and went over to him.

"They gave me some medicine to keep me awake long enough to do the tests. They took my temperature. I have a fever, which isn't good. It's very high. It's about 104.3. That's my dad's favorite station." Seth looked at the TV. Bugs Bunny was on. Summer went to say something, but Seth started singing the song. "Food around the corner. Food around the corner. Food around the corner for me, me, me. I like this episode."

Summer grabbed his hand. "Seth, there's something I need to tell you." Seth looked away from the TV and looked at Summer. "I love you. I really wanted to tell you that." She pulled Seth into a hug. He couldn't move his right arm because he had the IV in, but he returned the hug with his left.

"I love you too," he said. He looked at Summer. "So, since I'm awake, do you want to know what I have?"

"Sure. Why not," Summer said.

**THE FOLLOWING PARAGRAPH IS ALL TRUE...**

"Well, I have Shingles. Anyone can get Shingles really. If you had chicken pox, even though you are immune to it, the varicella virus remains in your spinal cord and if it reactivates, Shingles forms. You can get Shingles if you have a condition that affects the immune system, such as HIV, periods of increased stress, excess alcohol intake, long term use of steroids, cancer treatments, or medicines used after organ transplants. But it is usually minor. You know, I might lose my hearing and sight in my left ear and eye if they aren't careful. But don't worry, you can only get Shingles if you drink from the same cup as me or shove your tongue down my throat. I'm serious. Anyway, I have something called Ramsay Hunt syndrome. I have it because I got the blisters on my ear and that's how you get it. I sometimes have an earache and dizziness. They are afraid that I am going to develop the deafness and the paralysis part soon. Don't worry, it will just be my face and it will be temporarily, hopefully. Sometimes the hearing is permanently impaired. They are checking for Encephalitis, which is inflammation of the brain. It is very rare, but I have the symptoms. They are confusion and high fever. Other symptoms that I have or might get are loss of memory, exhaustion, severe headache and any symptoms affecting the eye area. They have been giving me doses of paracetamol and I am going to have to use calamine lotion to soothe the pain."

Seth grabbed his head.

"Are you OK?"

"Yeah. I'm just tired again. I'm gonna go to sleep for a little while. Good night Summer."

"Night Seth."

Before she went to walk out, she looked back at Seth. He was looking at her and smiling.

"Love you," he said.

"Love you too." She went back over to him and hugged him again.

"Sleep sweet," she said.

He was asleep in a matter of seconds.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

Summer walked out of the room with tears in her eyes. She decided to head to the bathroom before going back to the Cohens. She asked the nurse where the bathrooms were, and they were near the waiting room. She had to go past the Cohens.

She saw that Ryan was gone and Sandy and Kirsten's backs were to Summer. She crept past the Cohens and got to the bathroom. She started crying again. Seth could become blind and deaf. He might even die! She heard a knock on the door.

"Someone's in here!" she said.

"Summer, I know you're in there."

It was Ryan.

"Go away Chino," she said.

"Come out Summer. I want to talk to you."

"No."

"Don't make me come in there Summer. Look, it's OK to cry. I was crying before."

That got to Summer. She went over and opened the door. "Really?"

"Yeah. I scared the Cohens though. They never heard me cry before."

"I guess."

Ryan pulled her into a hug. "Let's go back inside. The doctor is here with something to tell us."

They walked back into the waiting room and saw Kirsten and Sandy talking with the doctor.

"Hi! You must be Ryan. I'm Dr. Kylie. I'm Seth's doctor. I was just telling your parents that we can go and get the results of the tests we ran earlier. The nurse put them in Seth's room," she said.

They walked towards Seth's room and saw the folder in the door. Dr. Kylie picked it up and looked inside. At first, she looked confused. But then, a look of horror appeared on her face.

"This can't be right," she said.

"What?" Ryan asked.

"Hold on one second. I'm going to make sure this is the right folder."

Dr. Kylie went over to the nurse's station.

"Jess, is this Seth Cohen's folder?" she asked.

"I'm afraid so Michelle. Did you tell the family yet?"

"No. But are you sure that's what it is?"

Jessica went under the desk and pulled out the original copy of the results. She opened it up and showed Dr. Kylie the chart.

"Look at the chart, sis. Here are his antibodies. Here is an unidentified antibody. Further testing and microscopes showed that they are HIV antibodies. He's got it Michelle. There is no denying it."

"How many tests did you run?"

"We ran both the ELISA and the Western Blot test. Both turned up positive."

"Does his mother have it?"

"No."

"So, it was sexually transmitted?"

"Maybe not. But if he had sex, it is a possibility."

"Legally, we have to tell them after we get the results of the Western Blot test. This is going to suck."

"Good luck, sis."

"Hold on, you didn't tell me the results of the Encephalitis test."

"We don't know. We have to perform a lumbar puncture to be sure."

Dr. Kylie nodded and went back over to the Cohens.

"I'm sorry about that. I needed to speak to one of the nurses about the results. My sister Jessica Kylie did the testing. She said it was his folder. I'm sorry to tell you this, but your son has HIV."

**FOUR MONTHS EARLIER**

Summer was listening to Seth babble about nothing important.

"Cohen!"

He stopped talking. "Yeah?"

"Shut up! For one minute! You haven't stopped talking since we left your house."

"Sorry Summer."

They pulled up to the beach and saw that even at 9:30pm, it was still crowded. They went to their little spot near some rocks and by the water.

"It's nice out tonight," Summer said.

"It's nice out every night. It's California."

"You're so sarcastic Cohen."

"But that's what you love about me," he said.

She shrugged. She looked at Seth and saw a shocked look on his face.

"Well. You want to play dirty? We'll play dirty." He picked her up and bought her into the water.

"Cohen! Don't you dare put me down! This is a $200 bathing suit!"

"It's a bathing suit Summer!" He dropped her into the water.

"Cohen!" she whined.

"It's just water!" Seth said. He looked down at his leg and saw that he cut himself.

'Nice going Cohen," Summer said.

They got out of the water and Seth stopped the bleeding on his leg. They sat and watched the water, when a homeless guy came up to them.

"Do you have any money? I am really hungry," he said.

Summer got scared.

"It's OK Summer." Seth pulled out a 20 and gave it to the man.

"Oh bless you young sir! Thank you very much!"

Seth saw a little girl run over.

"I couldn't get anything daddy. The people wouldn't give me any money."

Summer felt tears welling in her eyes. That was really touching. She reached into her bag and pulled out a 50. Seth saw her pull it out, but she was going to give it to them.

"Here you go sweetie," she said.

The girl's eyes lit up and she gave Summer a hug. She also gave Seth a hug.

"My name's Ally Sheen. This is my daddy. His name is Mike Sheen! We are very happy that you gave us this money! We have enough money for a new outfit in that little place out of town! They have shirts for 5 dollars and pants for 10! Oh thank you very much!" she said.

"Your welcome! If we ever see you again, we'll be happy to give you money if you need it," Summer said.

Mike and Ally waved as they walked away.

"A 50 Summer?" Seth asked.

"I felt really bad! She was only 8 or 9!"

Seth and Summer sat and watched the ocean again, thinking about the good deed they just committed.

**TWO MONTHS EARLIER**

"Let's go Seth! You and Ryan have a medical in 20 minutes!" Sandy called. He went back into the kitchen and saw that Ryan was sitting at the table eating pancakes.

"Did Kirsten cook those?" Sandy asked.

"No. I did. I saw the mix wasn't opened yet, so I decided to make them. Do you want some? I made extra."

Sandy looked over at the stove.

"Let's see. Pancakes or the diet Kirsten is forcing me to go on. Tough choice. But pancakes win!" Sandy grabbed a plate, two pancakes and some bacon and sat down.

"I'm surprised Seth didn't come down when he smelled food," Sandy said.

"So am I. He was probably to busy dreaming again."

"Dreaming?"

"Yeah. He told me he keeps having this dream about Captain Oats and Princess Sparkles as humans and him and Summer as the horses."

"Oh. Who's Princess Sparkles?"

"Summer's pony."

"I'm coming!" Sandy leaned back on the chair and saw stumbling down the stairs.

"OK! I'm ready!"

"Good! You can take your food in the car. We have to go now," Sandy said.

The boys and Sandy hopped into the Range Rover and headed towards Dr. Castiglia's office. Seth and Sandy were arguing over the radio. Sandy wanted to listen to his Grease Soundtrack and Seth wanted to listen to Death Cab For Cutie.

"Ryan, what should we listen to?" Seth asked.

"Journey." He said that to throw them both off.

Seth looked back at his dad and kept arguing over the music.

By the time they got there, they still didn't decide on whose music they were going to listen to. They got out of the car and headed up to the office.

Luckily, they got the first appointment and no one else was there yet. They were called in right away.

Ryan went first. He was a little hesitant about getting into a paper robe tied together by a plastic string, but agreed. He was finished within minutes. Then, it was Seth's turn.

"All right guys. Ryan, according to your charts from Chino, you were 5 feet 8 inches. You are now 5 feet 9 inches. Seth, you were 5 feet 9 inches. You are now 5 feet 11 inches. Jesus Seth! You're taller then I am. I remember when you were born. Do you know that story?" Dr. Castiglia asked.

"Do I want to?"

"Probably. When you were born, I was at a beach party. You were born 2 weeks late, just to let you know. That was when I got the page that your mother was in labor. So, I got down there, threw on my robe, and delivered you in your bathing suit."

"Wow. That was disturbing."

Ryan, on the other hand, was laughing. "It's funny Seth!"

"Not really."

"Uh oh. It's a mad house out there. OK. Here are your slips for the lab downstairs. That's where you're getting the blood work done," he said.

"Thanks Doctor. We'll see you around," Sandy said.

They headed down to the lab and saw that it actually looked like a normal place. Not like they had pictured it. It had chairs, a T.V. and a nurse reading a book.

They filled out the information and sat down. But not for long because this is Newport and if you are kept waiting too long, you might file a lawsuit for wasting time.

Ryan went in one room and Seth went into the other. Both of them noticed that there were bindings on the chairs.

"Don't worry," Ryan's doctor said. "It's for little kids who can't stay still."

"Is it legal?" Ryan asked.

"Oh yes. But we can only do it with parental permission."

They both had blood drawn. Seth got an update on his Tetanus shot while Ryan had to get a few shots he never got.

Since Ryan was wearing a tank top Seth bought him, they saw all of the band aids.

"Wow! It's Band Aid Man!" Seth said.

"How many shots did you get?" Sandy asked.

"Three, plus getting my blood drawn."

They had to give their urine samples to the nurse.

"Who asked you to give these?" she asked.

"Dr. Castiglia when we were upstairs," Sandy said.

"OK then. You're done. If something comes up, we'll call you," she said.

They never called the Cohens because nothing was detected.

Kirsten's face was pale white. "No," she whispered.

"I'm terribly sorry. But there is something else you need to know," Dr. Kylie said.

They all looked at her.

"Seth might have Encephalitis. That is a very rare symptom of Shingles, but it has happened before. The symptoms are fever, headache, poor appetite, loss of energy, or just a general sick feeling. In more severe cases, the symptoms are high fever, severe headache, nausea and vomiting, stiff neck, pupils of different sizes, confusion, disorientation, personality changes, convulsions (seizures), problems with speech or hearing, hallucinations, double vision, difficulty moving an arm or leg, involuntary movements, difficulty walking, loss of sensation in some part of the body, memory loss, drowsiness, and coma. There is sometimes a convulsion, or a series of convulsions, at the start of the illness. Unfortunately, we think it's serious. His body might not be able to fight off the HIV. We are giving him antibodies as we speak and doing everything we can. But we need to give him a lumbar puncture to be sure."

"What's a lumbar puncture?' Kirsten asked.

"Spinal Tap." Ryan replied. He had his head in his hands.

"Oh no! That's going to hurt him!" Kirsten said.

"We have to Mrs. Cohen. If we don't properly diagnose it, we can't treat it. One of you can go into the room with him while we do it."

Ryan couldn't believe what was happening. But for the first time, he realized what everyone else already did. Seth is going to die. There is nothing they can do about it.


	4. Chapter 4

**I own Nothing! I'm not writing this anymore, but I won't own anything unless I tell you. But I do own Ally, Nick and Mike.**

Kirsten came out of Seth's room crying. "It was horrible Sandy. He cried when they put the needle in his back and- oh Sandy! It was just horrible." She sat on the chair and started to cry.

Ryan decided to go into Seth's room, but Sandy stopped him.

"Seth doesn't know what is wrong. We want you to tell him everything. He wants to hear it from you."

Ryan nodded and went into the room and saw Seth. He was lying on his stomach facing the wall. He was talking to himself.

"I'll show them all. I'll show all of Newport I can be strong! I can be good. I can do what I want! I win! I win!"

Ryan went over to him. "Hey Seth."

Seth looked at him. "Bad needle! Get it away from me! It hurts! Grrrrrr." He shook his head. "Hey buddy! They hurt me. Do you know that? They took a needle and put it in my back. It was a Spinal Tap. I think. So, what's up?"

"I need to talk to you Seth," Ryan said.

Seth sat up. "Sure dude. What is it?"

"Seth, you have Encephalitis. They determined that from the test they just took. As you know, you have Ramsay Hunt Syndrome and that is why you feel dizzy sometimes. Do you know how you got Shingles?" Ryan asked.

"No. I know how you can get it."

Ryan looked at the floor.

"Ryan, please tell me it's because I've been stressed."

"I'm afraid not Seth."

"What is it?"

"Seth, you have HIV."

Seth was dead silent. He put a serious look on his face. "Get Summer in here. I have to talk to her. Now."

Ryan nodded and got Summer to go into the room.

"Hey Cohen," she said.

"Summer, I have HIV. Do you know what that is?" Seth asked.

"Yeah. I know what you're thinking. I gave it to you. But Seth, I don't have HIV or AIDS. But I took a blood test to be sure. The results should be coming in an hour."

"But if you don't have it, who has it?"

"Well, your parents and Ryan took a blood test. We all took one."

Seth nodded. He looked at Summer questionably. "Hey Sum, why are there two of you?"

"Um Cohen, there's only one of me."

Seth looked at her harder. He started to squint.

"No Summer. I am positive that there are two of you."

Summer was getting nervous. She ran out of the room and bumped into Dr. Kylie. She told her what happened.

"Thanks for letting me know Summer. It's a symptom of Encephalitis. Now, we are positive that it is a serious case."

"Also, his pupils looked a little off."

"Thanks for that information. But don't worry. It's another symptom. We can now properly diagnose and treat the Encephalitis. We can also treat the HIV and Shingles."

"So that means Seth is going to live?"

"Unfortunately, no. But it doesn't mean he is going to die either. It's going to even the odds out."

"Well, what are the odds?"

"Right now, if we don't start treating him within the next two days, there is a 23 chance he will survive the second night."

"Oh God."

"I know sweetie. You should go back by the Cohens. They need to ask you something."

Summer said good-bye and headed towards the waiting room.

"Where's Kirsten?" she asked.

"She went into Seth's room. Didn't you see her on your way out?" Sandy asked.

Summer shook her head.

"Well Summer, we got the results of the blood test back. None of us are HIV positive. Do you know how he could have gotten it?"

Summer did something she never thought she would do. She started thinking. Hard.

"I don't know."

"If you find out or remember, can you let us know?" Sandy asked.

She nodded.

"Thanks Summer."

She went outside the hospital. She noticed Ryan sitting on the floor, leaning against the hospital.

"Hey," he said.

"Hi."

"Did Sandy tell you-"

"Yeah."

They sat in silence for a little, when they heard a running sound. Ryan looked up first. He poked Summer and she looked up.

"Hi Summer! Remember me?"

"Ally! How are you sweetie?"

Ryan looked dumbfounded.

"Good! Guess what? My daddy got a job! We live in an house now! His job gave it to him!"

"Really? That's really good Ally! Did you buy that outfit you wanted?"

Ryan looked even more confused.

"Yep! I still wear it and I even learned how to sew and guess what? I am going to school now!"

"That's awesome! So, where's the house?" Summer asked.

"It's in Chino."

Ryan spit out the soda in his mouth.

"Chino?"

"Yep." She looked at Ryan. "Is this your boyfriend Summer?"

"No!" they both said.

"Too bad. He's cute!"

Summer looked at Ryan. His head was in his lap.

"Well, I got to go. Bye Summer!"

"Bye Ally!"

Summer watched Ally skip away. She looked at Ryan. His head was still in his lap. She pulled it up and it was beat red.

"Oh my God Chino! Are you blushing," she asked.

Ryan turned even redder.

"God! She's only like, eight or nine! What would happen if seventeen year old said it to you? Your head could be cut off and put on an apple tree!"

"Very funny. Who was that?"

"That's Ally."

"Really?" Ryan said.

"No need for sarcasm Chino. She is, or was, a homeless girl. Seth and I gave her money a few months back."

"How long ago?"

"About 4 months."

Ryan looked at Summer.

"Did you meet her dad?"

"Yea. His name's Mike."

"What did he look like?"

"Well, he didn't look well. He looked sick actually."

"We have to go upstairs. Now."

Ryan got up and ran inside. Summer caught up to him by the elevator. They got in the elevator and Ryan pushed the number 3.

"Seth's on the fourth floor."

"That's not where we're going."

He got out and went to the left.

"How do you know where you're going?" Summer asked.

"I looked at a directory."

"They have one of those in a hospital?"

"Apparently."

They stopped at doors that said BLOOD WORK TESTING. KNOCK FIRST.

"Knock first?" Summer asked.

Ryan knocked on the door. A man opened it.

"May I help you?" he asked.

"Yes. I'm Ryan Atwood and this is Summer Roberts. We need to see a file about a patient you might have."

"Sorry. You can't look at that."

"Fine. Thank you for your time."

He closed the door, but Summer didn't want to leave.

"He's hot!"

"You're taken!"

They went towards the elevator and back to the waiting room.

"Sandy, we need you to come with us for a second," Ryan said.

"OK. What is it?"

"Nothing major. Summer went and told Kirsten that we needed you for a minute."

Summer came back in. "OK. I told her."

"How is she?" Ryan asked.

"She's a little pale. I heard her stomach growling. I think she's hungry."

"She hasn't eaten since this morning. None of us have."

"I had a soda and a pretzel," Ryan said.

"I had a Hershey bar I just remembered eating," Sandy said.

"I ate before I got here. I'm not that hungry," Summer said.

"Well, let's go," Ryan said.

They went back to the blood work testing area and explained everything to Sandy, but not what they were doing. Only that they needed to see if they had Mike Sheen's file.

"Who's Mike Sheen?" Sandy asked.

"You'll see."

They knocked on the door. The same guy answered. "You again."

"Hello! I'm Sandy Cohen! I'm a lawyer and I need you to show me something."

"Do you have proof that you are a lawyer?" he asked.

"Sure." Sandy took the card out of his wallet. It was a security card for the firm. It had his photo, information and clearly stated that he was a lawyer.

"Come in Mr. Cohen. I'll see what I can do," he said.

"Thank you. By the way, what's your name?" Sandy asked.

"Nick Fowl. I'm a medical student. I'm here to watch doctors perform tests on patients."

"That's nice," Summer said.

"Uh, sure. Wait, your last name is Cohen? As in Seth Cohen?"

"Yes."

"I watched them give him the EEG and MRI not to long ago. Also, I saw them take blood. Don't worry. I'm still not allowed to do that yet. But they asked me what kind of tests they were giving him and I was the first one to see the results. They asked me what I saw and I saw that your son had Encephalitis."

"You seem interested in becoming a doctor."

"Oh definitely! It is such an interesting profession. I have already aced my classes this year and I got the results back from my exam. They are 1497 out of 1500. I just have to do one more thing before I graduate."

"What's that?" Sandy asked.

"I have to be able to identify what is wrong with patients. But don't worry, I don't make the final decision. I just have to be able to get it right. When I get all of the ones they ask me right, which is about 20, I am one step closer to my graduation."

"That's great," Summer said.

"Yeah it is. But after each test, I get tested on what they did, what it's called and the worst part of all, the proper spelling."

"That sucks," Sandy said.

Ryan was getting annoyed.

"Yeah. But the cool part is, I'm only 20! I took tests and I get to graduate early."

"I don't mean to be rude Nick, but can we continue?" Ryan asked.

"Sure! What do you need?"

"We need to see if you have the records for Mike Sheen."

"OK. Let's go in the back by the S section and see."

They headed all the way towards the end of the room and found the S section.

"OK. Sheen, Sheen… Found it! Michael Sheen. There is also a file for Alexandra Sheen. That's his daughter."

"That's fine. May we look through it?" Sandy asked.

"Sure. But don't take anything. It's considered stealing."

Ryan took the files and looked in the back by the blood work. He saw that Ally was HIV negative, but Mike was HIV positive.

"Shit," he said.

They saw the file.

"But how could e have given it to Seth?" Sandy asked.

Summer remembered back to that day.

"Seth got cut on his leg. He might have spit on the wound! He spit all over me," Summer said.

They know how Seth got HIV, but how are they going to tell him that a guy he helped, might cause him his life?

**Happy Thanksgiving! Even if you read this after 11/25!**


	5. 5

As Ryan, Sandy and Summer headed back towards the elevator, they all had different thoughts.

Sandy: _How do I tell my son he got HIV from a man he helped? He helped this man and his daughter survive and THIS is his reward?! I just hope we don't get busted for looking at someone's record. It is legal. Good thing that "genius" didn't know that……_ He let out a little chuckle at the thought.

Summer: _Like, this totally sucks! I can't believe Mike gave Cohen HIV! I heard that can like, turn to AIDS and become deadly. I really hope Seth gets better soon…_

Ryan: _I can't believe that homeless man gave Seth HIV. Now he has Shingles and Encephalitis also! This can't get any worse. I think if Seth dies, at least he'll be out of his misery. I hope Charlie didn't suffer this much… _"Charlie," Ryan whispered.

"Charlie?" Summer asked.

"What?" Ryan pretended to be clueless.

"You said Charlie. Who's Charlie?"

"No one," Ryan said a little too quickly. He kept walking and caught up with Sandy.

But Summer wanted to know who Charlie was and how Ryan knows him.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

They went back to Seth's room and saw Kirsten standing outside the door.

"How is he?" Sandy asked.

"He's ok. He's resting now. But the Encephalitis is starting to get to him. He's starting to hallucinate. But the rashes are starting to go away."

"Can I go in?" Summer asked.

"Sure. He's awake and might be a little insane. He thought I was my father. That scared me a little. If you know him, being mistaken for him is a little bit of an insult." She looked around and noticed that Ryan and Sandy were staring at her.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Summer went in Seth's room. He was sitting up watching T.V.

"Hi," she said.

Seth looked over at her and smiled.

"I need to ask you something. Are you hallucinating?" she asked.

"I don't know. Are you Summer?"

"Yea."

"Then I'm not insane, for now."

"Do you know who Charlie is?" Summer asked.

"From Busted?"

"Who's Busted?"

"A band. I have their C.D. in my bag if you want to borrow it."

"I'll get it later. But not that Charlie. When we were on our way back to your room, I heard Ryan whisper the name Charlie. But he won't tell me who Charlie is."

"Did you know Ryan sleep talks?" Seth asked.

"How would you know that?"

"When he first came to Newport, I slept in the poolhouse. He slept on the floor and I slept on the couch. I woke up in the middle of the night. All I know is that Charlie was really close to him and he died. That's all I could make out."

"That's good. Thanks Cohen." Summer started walking out the door when she heard Seth's breath rapidly increase. "Are you OK?"

Seth pointed to a corner. Summer looked over There was no one there.

**Seth's POV**

"Who are you?" he asked.

The boy just smiled at him.

"Why are you here? Who are you?"

The boy kept smiling.

"Tell me!" Seth demanded.

"My name is Charlie."

"I know you."

The boy smiled and walked over towards the door. "No. You know _of _me. You hear Ryan talk about me, don't you?"

"How do you know these things?"

"I watch you. But you can't see me. Tell me about yourself."

"No."

"Come on Seth. I want to know everything about you."

"No."

_I'm getting the doctor._

"Fine. You're going to make Ryan sad though. He wants me to talk to you."

"No he doesn't."

"What about Summer? She wants you to tell me everything."

The boy was starting to get on Seth's nerves.

"Get away from me Charlie!" Seth yelled.

"Fine. Have fun in the loony bin," he said.

Seth blinked and noticed the boy was gone.

**Summer's POV**

Seth looked like he was in shock.

"Who are you?" Seth asked. His back was to Summer.

"It's me Summer."

"Why are you here? Who are you?"

"It's me! Summer! You're in the hospital."

"Tell me!"

"I did!"

Seth was silent for a few seconds. "I know you."

"Thank God Seth! I was getting scared. Can you look at me? You're facing the wall."

He turned towards Summer and had a weird look on his face.

"How do you know these things?"

"I've been here the entire time. Do you remember?"

"No."

"Do you remember who I am?"

"No."

"I'm getting the doctor."

Summer went into the hall and saw the doctor talking to the Cohens and Ryan.

"Seth's scaring me. He's saying he doesn't remember anything."

They went into Seth's room. He was shaking and holding on to the sheets.

"Get away from me Charlie!"

Ryan's eyes widened. Summer looked over at him and saw his face.

Seth snapped out of it. "Whoa. Where did he go?"

"Who?" Sandy asked.

"Charlie."

"We'll be right back," Summer said. She dragged Ryan back into the hall.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"I want to know about Charlie."

"I don't know a Charlie."

"I saw your face when he said Charlie's name. Who is he?"

"Fine! You want to know? Charlie's my younger brother. He died when he was 14 and I was 15. He died from Encephalitis. I eventually turned into a tumor in his brain and he died at 14 years old! Why do you think I've been so concerned about Seth?" Ryan was fuming. His face was red and Summer could see his blue eyes change to fire. He went back into Seth's room.

Summer found Ryan's trigger. He hated thinking about his brother's death. _Did I make it worse for him by forcing him to talk about it? What have I done?_


End file.
